A decision on whether Statesville will be linked to a passenger train system that would give travelers access to the Amtrak rail system may be in the hands of local government leaders.

The N.C. Department of Transportation rail division is planning a western North Carolina rail link beginning in 2005 running from Salisbury to Asheville, with stops at six cities, including Statesville. In Salisbury, travelers would have access to the Amtrak passenger rail system.

The problem for Statesville comes with the ownership of its depot. Unlike the situation in the other five cities, the Statesville Depot is owned by a local development group, the Downtown Statesville Development Corp.

In Hickory, Salisbury, Asheville, Morganton, Marion, Old Fort and Black Mountain, the cities own the facilities and the governments seem willing to provide matching money for renovating the buildings.

In Statesville, the development corporation says it needs help with providing cash to match the federal grants and security once the facility is operational. There, the restored depot would function as a centralized facility, connecting train, bus and commuter transportation.

"We have asked the city to help with the responsibility for a transportation center," says Bryan George, DSDC manager. However, some city fathers don't agree. "It's seen by some as not fiscally responsible," George says.

So the Statesville City Council has tabled the issue. It could be discussed at subsequent meetings.

George is concerned that the train will pass Statesville by. "It truly will be a part of a nationwide link," he says. "It would be disheartening to see the train go through our backyard and not stop."

At question is about $68,000 needed to match federal cash to develop parking, renovations and other services at the Statesville Depot. Total cost of the work is $1.3 million, with the federal grant picking up most of the expenses.

The Statesville Depot was moved in 1993 and restored at a cost of $400,000. Its former owner, Norfolk Southern Corp., had wanted to demolish the 5,000-square-foot facility that was built in 1911.

The Western North Carolina rail link will begin service in 2005 if all goes as planned, says Julia Hegele, rail division spokeswoman.

Titanium company buys closed Salisbury foundry

A new metals company has bought most of the former Fuchs Systems Inc. facility in Salisbury and is refining titanium and nickel alloys there.

AlloyWorks purchased three buildings on the four-building site, paying $700,000, and began production with six employees.

Finding a buyer for the foundry, located in a thriving commercial area a few miles from downtown Salisbury, is a positive step for the city, says Randy Harrell, executive director of the Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Corp.

"It's probably the best of all possible worlds," he says. "We're fortunate that someone was able to use the facility."

Also, the remaining building at the site, a 7,500-square-foot office structure, will become an urgent-care medical clinic, say sources in the community.

A group headed by Gastonia surgeon Dr. Augustine Eze has a deal to buy the building for $600,000 with plans to open National Urgent Care. Eze is also involved in a group that operates a similar clinic in Kings Mountain.

Eze, a vascular surgeon and a principal in Metrolina Surgery, a Charlotte physicians group, couldn't be reached for comment on plans for the clinic.

AlloyWorks began production in Salisbury about two weeks ago, says Bill Chinnis, president. The company supplies consumer products, biomedical and aerospace customers with small- and middle-size orders of titanium and nickel alloys, he says.

The company could grow to scores of employees within five years by partnering with bigger corporations for small production runs, Chinnis says.

"The larger company many times isn't interested in adding capital assets but is more interested in adding partners," he says.

Chinnis, a former metallurgist and manager at Allvac Metals Co. in Monroe, formed AlloyWorks last month to buy the Salisbury facility.

The purchase included seven acres in West Innes Street, which allows room for growth. Randy Stump of The Stump Corp. represented AlloyWorks in the purchase.

Statesville plant will cut work force by one-third

A Statesville plant has notified N.C. officials of plans to cut 80 jobs from a facility that makes woven glass fiberboards for the electronics and computer industries, reducing its work force by more than a third.

Hexcel-Schwebel Corp. will cut the jobs by early 2002 at the 535 Connor St. facility. Parent company Hexcel Corp. is eliminating 1,500 jobs nationally as part of a larger reorganization.

In Statesville, the reduction cuts the staff to 180 workers, from a work force of about 260. Hexcel-Schwebel employed 315 in early 2001, according to a Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce industrial database.

Workers make woven glass fiberboards that are used to hold electronic components in computers and other machines.

Jeff McKay, director of the Greater Statesville Development Corp., hopes Hexcel-Schwebel will bounce back and boost employment. Hexcel-Schwebel filed notice of the cutbacks as required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which demands employers notify the state of major layoffs 60 days before they take place.

Hexcel-Schwebel workers will receive severance packages.

Execs at Stamford, Conn.-based Hexcel say they regret the need for the cutbacks. The electronics industry has been in a slump since early this year as the flagging economy reduced the demand for equipment and computers, says spokesman Michael Bacal. "It's not something we prefer to do. But the company needed to take steps to put its cost structure in line."